An Evaluation of a Synbiotic Formula for Patients With COVID-19 Infection

Covid19 Clinical Trial

Official title:

An Evaluation of a Synbiotic Formula for Symptom Improvement in Hospitalised Patients With COVID-19 Infection

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Enrolling by invitation

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT04581018
• Other study ID #: Synbiotic COV study
• Status: Enrolling by invitation
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: August 13, 2020
• Est. completion date: July 31, 2023

Study information

• Verified date: November 2022
• Source: Chinese University of Hong Kong
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

In December 2019, a cluster of pneumonia cases of unidentified cause emerged in Wuhan,was identified as the culprit of this disease currently being identified as "Coronavirus Disease 2019" (COVID-19) by World Health Organization.

Coronavirus was found to not only target the patient's lungs but also multiple organs. Around 2-33% of Coronavirus Disease-19 patients developed gastrointestinal symptoms. Studies have shown that Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SAR-CoV-2) was found in patient's feces, suggesting that the virus can spread through feces. In our previous study, stool samples from 15 patients with COVID-19 were analysed. Depleted symbionts and gut dysbiosis were noted even after patients were detected negative of SARS-CoV-2. A series of microbiota were correlated inversely with the disease severity and virus load. Gut microbiota could play a role in modulating host immune response and potentially influence disease severity and outcomes.

The investigators are uncertain about the impact of synbiotic on patients with COVID-19. However, a therapeutic strategy aiming at investigating the gut Imicrobiota of patients with COVID-9 who take synbiotic or not, leading to lesser progression to severe disease, less hospital stay and improved quality of life.

Description:

In December 2019, a cluster of pneumonia cases of unidentified cause emerged in Wuhan, Hubei province, China. In early January, a novel betacoronavirus forming another clade within the subgenus sarbecovirus, now named SARS-CoV-2, was identified as the culprit of this disease currently being identified as "Coronavirus Disease 2019" (COVID-19) by WHO.

Coronavirus was found to not only target the patient's lungs, but also multiple organs. Around 2-33% of COVID-19 patients developed gastrointestinal symptoms. Studies have shown that SAR-CoV-2 was found in patient's feces, suggesting that the virus can spread through feces. In our previous study, stool samples from 15 patients with COVID-19 were analysed. Depleted symbionts and gut dysbiosis were noted even after patients were detected negative of SARS-CoV-2. A series of microbiota were correlated inversely with the disease severity and virus load. Gut microbiota could play a role in modulating host immune response and potentially influence disease severity and outcomes.

In July 2020, there are more than 15 million confirmed cases globally with 620 thousand deaths. Currently, there are more than 2000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Hong Kong. The investigators are uncertain about the impact of synbiotic on patients with COVID-19. However, a therapeutic strategy aiming at investigating the gut Imicrobiota of patients with COVID-9 who take synbiotic or not, leading to lesser progression to severe disease, less hospital stay and improved quality of life.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Enrolling by invitation
• Enrollment: 50
• Est. completion date: July 31, 2023
• Est. primary completion date: December 31, 2021
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: All
• Age group: 18 Years and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Aged 18 or above; and

2. A confirmed diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection using the PCR according to the standard of according to Centre for Health Protection, Department of Health, HK at recruitment and that require admission to the hospitalization area; and

3. Written informed consent is obtained

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Subjects admitted to Intensive Care Unit or on ventilator

2. Known allergy or intolerance to the intervention product or its components

3. Any known medical condition that would prevent taking oral probiotics or increase risks associated with probiotics including but not limited to inability to swallow/aspiration risk and no other methods of delivery (e.g no G/J tube)

4. Known increased infection risk due to immunosuppression such as:

• Prior organ or hematopoietic stem cell transplant

• Neutropenia (ANC <500 cells/ul)

• HIV and CD4 <200 cells/ul

5. Known history or active endocarditis

6. Recent on CAPD or hemodialysis-

7. Documented pregnancy

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• COVID-19
• Covid19
• Microbiota

Intervention

Other:
• Health supplements
28 days of health supplements (synbiotic), 4g daily

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
Hong Kong	The Chinese University of Hong Kong	Sha Tin

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Siew Chien NG

Country where clinical trial is conducted

Hong Kong, 

References & Publications (13)

Cao B, Wang Y, Wen D, Liu W, Wang J, Fan G, Ruan L, Song B, Cai Y, Wei M, Li X, Xia J, Chen N, Xiang J, Yu T, Bai T, Xie X, Zhang L, Li C, Yuan Y, Chen H, Li H, Huang H, Tu S, Gong F, Liu Y, Wei Y, Dong C, Zhou F, Gu X, Xu J, Liu Z, Zhang Y, Li H, Shang L, Wang K, Li K, Zhou X, Dong X, Qu Z, Lu S, Hu X, Ruan S, Luo S, Wu J, Peng L, Cheng F, Pan L, Zou J, Jia C, Wang J, Liu X, Wang S, Wu X, Ge Q, He J, Zhan H, Qiu F, Guo L, Huang C, Jaki T, Hayden FG, Horby PW, Zhang D, Wang C. A Trial of Lopinavir-Ritonavir in Adults Hospitalized with Severe Covid-19. N Engl J Med. 2020 May 7;382(19):1787-1799. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2001282. Epub 2020 Mar 18. — View Citation

Docherty AB, Harrison EM, Green CA, Hardwick HE, Pius R, Norman L, Holden KA, Read JM, Dondelinger F, Carson G, Merson L, Lee J, Plotkin D, Sigfrid L, Halpin S, Jackson C, Gamble C, Horby PW, Nguyen-Van-Tam JS, Ho A, Russell CD, Dunning J, Openshaw PJ, Baillie JK, Semple MG; ISARIC4C investigators. Features of 20 133 UK patients in hospital with covid-19 using the ISARIC WHO Clinical Characterisation Protocol: prospective observational cohort study. BMJ. 2020 May 22;369:m1985. doi: 10.1136/bmj.m1985. — View Citation

Hashimoto T, Perlot T, Rehman A, Trichereau J, Ishiguro H, Paolino M, Sigl V, Hanada T, Hanada R, Lipinski S, Wild B, Camargo SM, Singer D, Richter A, Kuba K, Fukamizu A, Schreiber S, Clevers H, Verrey F, Rosenstiel P, Penninger JM. ACE2 links amino acid malnutrition to microbial ecology and intestinal inflammation. Nature. 2012 Jul 25;487(7408):477-81. doi: 10.1038/nature11228. — View Citation

Holshue ML, DeBolt C, Lindquist S, Lofy KH, Wiesman J, Bruce H, Spitters C, Ericson K, Wilkerson S, Tural A, Diaz G, Cohn A, Fox L, Patel A, Gerber SI, Kim L, Tong S, Lu X, Lindstrom S, Pallansch MA, Weldon WC, Biggs HM, Uyeki TM, Pillai SK; Washington State 2019-nCoV Case Investigation Team. First Case of 2019 Novel Coronavirus in the United States. N Engl J Med. 2020 Mar 5;382(10):929-936. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2001191. Epub 2020 Jan 31. — View Citation

Huang C, Wang Y, Li X, Ren L, Zhao J, Hu Y, Zhang L, Fan G, Xu J, Gu X, Cheng Z, Yu T, Xia J, Wei Y, Wu W, Xie X, Yin W, Li H, Liu M, Xiao Y, Gao H, Guo L, Xie J, Wang G, Jiang R, Gao Z, Jin Q, Wang J, Cao B. Clinical features of patients infected with 2019 novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China. Lancet. 2020 Feb 15;395(10223):497-506. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30183-5. Epub 2020 Jan 24. Erratum in: Lancet. 2020 Jan 30;:. — View Citation

Janowitz T, Gablenz E, Pattinson D, Wang TC, Conigliaro J, Tracey K, Tuveson D. Famotidine use and quantitative symptom tracking for COVID-19 in non-hospitalised patients: a case series. Gut. 2020 Sep;69(9):1592-1597. doi: 10.1136/gutjnl-2020-321852. Epub 2020 Jun 4. — View Citation

Latest situation of cases of COVID-19. [Assessed on 24 Jul 2020]. https://www.chp.gov.hk/files/pdf/local_situation_covid19_en.pdf

Liang W, Feng Z, Rao S, Xiao C, Xue X, Lin Z, Zhang Q, Qi W. Diarrhoea may be underestimated: a missing link in 2019 novel coronavirus. Gut. 2020 Jun;69(6):1141-1143. doi: 10.1136/gutjnl-2020-320832. Epub 2020 Feb 26. — View Citation

WHO Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Dashboard. [Assessed on 24 Jul 2020]. https://covid19.who.int/

Wong CK, Lam CW, Wu AK, Ip WK, Lee NL, Chan IH, Lit LC, Hui DS, Chan MH, Chung SS, Sung JJ. Plasma inflammatory cytokines and chemokines in severe acute respiratory syndrome. Clin Exp Immunol. 2004 Apr;136(1):95-103. — View Citation

Yeo C, Kaushal S, Yeo D. Enteric involvement of coronaviruses: is faecal-oral transmission of SARS-CoV-2 possible? Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2020 Apr;5(4):335-337. doi: 10.1016/S2468-1253(20)30048-0. Epub 2020 Feb 20. — View Citation

Zhu N, Zhang D, Wang W, Li X, Yang B, Song J, Zhao X, Huang B, Shi W, Lu R, Niu P, Zhan F, Ma X, Wang D, Xu W, Wu G, Gao GF, Tan W; China Novel Coronavirus Investigating and Research Team. A Novel Coronavirus from Patients with Pneumonia in China, 2019. N Engl J Med. 2020 Feb 20;382(8):727-733. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2001017. Epub 2020 Jan 24. — View Citation

Zuo T, Zhan H, Zhang F, Liu Q, Tso EYK, Lui GCY, Chen N, Li A, Lu W, Chan FKL, Chan PKS, Ng SC. Alterations in Fecal Fungal Microbiome of Patients With COVID-19 During Time of Hospitalization until Discharge. Gastroenterology. 2020 Oct;159(4):1302-1310.e5. doi: 10.1053/j.gastro.2020.06.048. Epub 2020 Jun 26. — View Citation

* Note: There are 13 references in all — Click here to view all references

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Combined symptom score	Combined symptom score improvement of the first 4 weeks. Symptoms score assessment ranges from 20-80. The higher the score, the worse the symptoms.	4 weeks
Secondary	Clinical improvement	Compare the number and severity of symptoms existing by checking the list in symptoms assessment such as cough, shortness of breath, fever and gastrointestinal symptoms like anorexia, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, bloating before and during the study	4 weeks
Secondary	Time to develop antibody against SARS-CoV-2	Compare the time to develop antibody against SARS-CoV-2 in both group	16 days
Secondary	Quality of life measured by EQ-5D-5L	Improvement of quality of life measured by EQ-5D-5L. EQ-5D-5L is a self-assessed, health related, quality of life questionnaire. The scale measures quality of life on a 5-component scale including mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort, and anxiety/depression.The index can be calculated by deducting the appropriate weights from 1, the value for full health (i.e. state 11111). Each category ranges from 1 to 5. The small the number, the better the health. The EQ-VAS is a vertical visual analogue scale that ranges 0-100 (higher score indicates better imaginable health).	4 weeks
Secondary	Quality of life measured by SF-12	Improvement of quality of life measured by SF-12. SF-12 is a self-reported outcome measure assessing the impact of health on an individual's everyday life. There are formulas for transformation of scale scores so that they will range from 0-100. High score in functioning items indicates better functioning while high score in pain items indicates freedom from pain.	4 weeks
Secondary	Duration of hospital stay	Measure the duration of hospital stay in both group	up to 3 months
Secondary	Time to negative PCR	Compare the time to negative PCR in both group	through study completion, an average of 1 year
Secondary	Trend of symptom score	Trend of symptom score, ranges from 26-104. The higher the score, the worse the symptoms.	4 weeks
Secondary	Gastrointestinal symptoms	Duration of gastrointestinal symptoms such as anorexia, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, bloating within 4 week.	4 weeks
Secondary	Changes in fecal bacteria metabolites	Changes in fecal bacteria metabolites measured by PCR at different time points	weeks 2, 4, 5 and 8 months 3, 6, 9 and 12
Secondary	Change in plasma cytokines level	Change in plasma cytokines level at week 2 and week 5 compared with baseline	week 2 and week 5
Secondary	Changes in the gut microbiome	Changes in the gut microbiome (bacteria, virome and fungome) measured by metagenomics at different time points (weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and months 3, 6, 9 and 12) compared to baseline	weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8 and months 3, 6, 9 and 12
Secondary	Number of admission to Intensive Care Unit	Number of admission to Intensive Care Unit	4 weeks
Secondary	Number of subjects with home discharge	Number of subjects with home discharge	4 weeks
Secondary	Number of mortality	Number of mortality	4 weeks
Secondary	Number of days absent from work	Number of days absent from work since admission	3 months
Secondary	Change of quality of life questionnaire	Change in score on Quality of life using EQ-5D-5L and SF-12. EQ-5D-5L is a self-assessed, health related, quality of life questionnaire. The scale measures quality of life on a 5-component scale including mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort, and anxiety/depression.The index can be calculated by deducting the appropriate weights from 1, the value for full health (i.e. state 11111). Each category ranges from 1 to 5. The small the number, the better the health. The EQ-VAS is a vertical visual analogue scale that ranges 0-100 (higher score indicates better imaginable health). While the SF-12 is a self-reported outcome measure assessing the impact of health on an individual's everyday life. There are formulas for transformation of scale scores so that they will range from 0-100. High score in functioning items indicates better functioning while high score in pain items indicates freedom from pain.	week 8, months 3, 6, 9 and 12
Secondary	Number of adverse event	Number of adverse event	3 months